Real Housewives

This week on The Real Housewives of Potomac, Karen and Charrisse butt heads over which 'Wife is hosting the cast trip to Bermuda while Gizelle and Monique's attempt to put their issues to bed only deeps their feud. Plus, Ashley and Robyn reevaluate the future of their respective relationships. Read on for a full recap of the drama, confrontations and shade...

It's the morning after the critics' choice dinner at Oz and Ashley Darby is mustering up the courage to go through the comment cards left by the food bloggers, press and celebrity chefs who attended the event. With hot Chef Brad looking on, Ashley starts reading the reviews and to her surprise and relief, they're mostly positive! Whew! Her husband Michael is noticeably absent for the positive moment, only showing up afterwards with his tail between his legs. Pulling Ashley away from their employees, Michael makes the understatement of the week by pointing out that the couple's verbal assault on each other prior to the event was a "pretty bad" fight and tries to make Ashley promise that they'll never get that heated again. On the one hand, Michael seems remorseful for how he treated his wife, but on the other hand there's a definite undercurrent that he's once again trying to exercise control over her by dictating how she is to feel. Ashley visibly shuts down during the conversation, but thankfully refuses to back down in her confessional.

Meanwhile, Karen Huger has talked Gizelle Bryant and Monique Samuels into a sit down at hip North Bethesda eatery Summer House Santa Monica to hash out their festering issues with one another. However, the grande dame, who insists on making it clear to the waiter that she is the person hosting this lunch, is less than pleased when Charrisse Jackson Jordan arrives as Monique's uninvited plus one. (Pay attention because Karen's disproportionate displays of pretentiousness and contempt for Charrisse will be important later...)

Gizelle and Monique immediately get into it, sparring back and forth over who wronged who first. The newbie claims Gizelle has been judgmental and hostile from the moment they met while the OG points out that Monique was the one who called her a "stuck up trick" behind her back after throwing Gizelle out of her home. According to Monique, the definition of trick is "childish" (it's not), but Gizelle thinks the language barrier here is that the new girl speaks "trick trash" and can't hold a mature conversation. Yeah, this isn't going well...The issue of Monique asking - or telling, depending on who you're asking - Gizelle for her number following the PAVE event then gets brought up and fingers start flying over a battle of semantics as the women snap at each other. (Note to Mrs. Samuels: telling someone you were going to apologize isn't the same as actually apologizing.) Ultimately nothing is resolved between the two, despite Charrisse's tearful urging that they get along for her sake.

Good news! Karen and the black Bill Gates have sold their home in Potomac! And not only that, they received a cash offer from overseas. (Apparently the nation of China is buying the Hunger mansion. Does this sound shady to anyone else?) The bad news? The Hugers have just a few weeks to find a new house and move. Thus far in their hunt, nothing has met the grande dame's sky-high expectations, though her top two choices are homes in Great Falls, Virginia. Note, this means they are not in the prime Potomac zip code of 20854...As Charrisse so epically pointed out in the first episode of the season, don't let the zip code fool you, baby!

Following her heart to heart with Dr. Jeff, Robyn Dixon is finally willing to talk to a therapist about her complicated relationship with Juan. The question of whether the former high school sweethearts will move forward or move apart remains large and looming in Robyn's mind, though she avoids forcing the conversation with Juan. At first, Robyn seems to have a difficult time answering the therapist's questions personally, but eventually is coaxed to admit that yes, she does want love in her life. However, she doesn't know if she's ready to start dating other people, so the therapist gives her a homework assignment to go on one date with someone other than Juan as a way to find out what her heart is looking for.

Over at the Jordan mansion, Karen drops by for a poolside chat with Charrisse. (Emphasis on pool-side since the grande dame refuses to hop on a pink flamingo pool toy.) Karen suggests that all the ladies are ready for a vacation and enlists Potomac's resident social director to help plan the trip. She wants to go somewhere with sandy beaches and blue water - Charrisse throws out Bermuda as an option and we have a winner! In her confessional, Karen is very clear about the fact that Charrisse is helping plan the trip while she's the one hosting it, but when the two run to tell the other women, they both start taking credit for the vacation. Hmm...something's telling me this is going to be a problem...

Monique is throwing a birthday party for one-year-old Milani at her 26-acre, 5500 sq. ft. lake house in far-off Newburg, Md. Complete with a carnival and petting zoo, the pool party is also serving as a dedication ceremony for Monique's daughter and all the ladies are invited with the obvious exception of Gizelle. As the women gather by the pool, everyone's talking about how excited they are for the trip to Bermuda, and that's when Karen and Charrisse start clashing over who's actually hosting the trip. Karen claims Bermuda was her "brainchild" while Charrisse fires back that the only events the grande dame has ever organized were last season's "gala" in her living room and sad-looking couples yacht party. As shade and side-eye goes flying across the table, the tension between these two is thick and it looks like the Battle of the Bermuda Hostesses is officially on.

The next day, Robyn and Gizelle meet to get their lashes done in preparation for Bermuda. Robyn has the unlucky job of informing her bestie that she wasn't invited to Monique's lake house party. Gizelle, however, is entirely unbothered at this news, claiming she wouldn't have gone to the "Gizelle-hater's" party even if she had been on the guest list. At the same time, Karen and Charrisse are going another round over the Bermuda trip at the Huger residence. Calling Sha Sha her "assistant," Karen eventually compromises by allowing Charrisse to put together the itinerary for one day of the trip - as long as the welcome dinner upon arriving on the island is solely in the grande dame's hands. Never have I ever seen a Housewife be this possessive over the cast trip...

The episode ends with Ashley and Michael attempting to put the spark back in their relationship by going to a couple's pottery class a la Ghost. As with earlier in the episode, Michael is bending over backwards to get back in Ashley's good graces, even bringing up having kids as a way of sucking up to his wife. However, Ashley still has a wall up in the wake of their big blow-up at Oz, and squashes any baby talk by admitting she's not thinking about having kids these days. What she's more concerned about is the status of her relationship with her husband - yes, the Darbys love each other, but are they still in love with each other? As she jets off to the middle of the Atlantic, it seems that Little Miss Ashley may be running away from the problems in her relationship. Either way, the girls' trip to Bermuda can't come fast enough.

What did you think of this week's RHOP? Are you Team Karen or Team Charrisse in the Battle of Bermuda? Will Gizelle and Monique ever get past their petty issues? Should Ashley stay with Michael or run for the hills? Leave your thoughts and opinion in the comments below!